French vertical flow treatment wetlands in a subtropical climate: Characterization of the organic deposit layer and comparison with systems in France

Camila Maria Trein; Camille Banc; Kevin Maciejewski; Amanda de Moraes Motta; Rémy Gourdon; Pascal Molle; Mathieu Gautier; Marcos von Sperling

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140608

French vertical flow treatment wetlands in a subtropical climate: Characterization of the organic deposit layer and comparison with systems in France

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Nov 10:742:140608. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140608. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Authors

Camila Maria Trein¹, Camille Banc², Kevin Maciejewski³, Amanda de Moraes Motta⁴, Rémy Gourdon⁵, Pascal Molle⁶, Mathieu Gautier⁷, Marcos von Sperling⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antônio Carlos Ave., Engineering School, Room 4622, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Electronic address: camilatrein@yahoo.com.br.
² Univ. Lyon, INSA Lyon, DEEP (Laboratory Wastes Water Environment Pollutions), National Institute of Applied Sciences,20 av. Albert Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex, France. Electronic address: camille.banc@insa-lyon.fr.
³ Univ. Lyon, INSA Lyon, DEEP (Laboratory Wastes Water Environment Pollutions), National Institute of Applied Sciences,20 av. Albert Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex, France. Electronic address: kevin.maciejewski@insa-lyon.fr.
⁴ Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antônio Carlos Ave., Engineering School, Room 4622, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
⁵ Univ. Lyon, INSA Lyon, DEEP (Laboratory Wastes Water Environment Pollutions), National Institute of Applied Sciences,20 av. Albert Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex, France. Electronic address: remy.gourdon@insa-lyon.fr.
⁶ INRAE - REVERSAAL Research Unit, 5 Rue de la Doua, 69100 Villeurbanne, France. Electronic address: pascal.molle@inrae.fr.
⁷ Univ. Lyon, INSA Lyon, DEEP (Laboratory Wastes Water Environment Pollutions), National Institute of Applied Sciences,20 av. Albert Einstein, 69621 Villeurbanne Cedex, France. Electronic address: mathieu.gautier@insa-lyon.fr.
⁸ Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Minas Gerais, 6627 Antônio Carlos Ave., Engineering School, Room 4622, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Electronic address: marcos@desa.ufmg.br.

PMID: 32721738
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140608

Abstract

This paper presents an advanced characterization of the organic fraction of the top deposit layer collected in a French vertical flow treatment wetland (first stage) in operation in Brazil (two units with different organic deposit layer accumulation times), and compares the results with those obtained from studies in France. The organic and inorganic constituents of the samples collected were analysed by biological, chemical and thermochemical methods. The unit with the organic deposit with longer accumulation time (almost 10 years) was characterized as a mature one (organic matter - OM: 51.3 and 52.7%, thermal index - R_TGA: 0.79 and 0.85, humification index - HI: 0.61 and 1.16, respectively for the depths of 0-5 cm and 5-10 cm). The unit with the deposit organic with less than three years of accumulation also presented characteristics of a mature deposit (OM: 61.2%, R_TGA: 0.79, HI: 1.01 for the depth of 0-5 cm), indicating a rapid mineralization of the deposit under the existing subtropical environment. Despite several differences in term of conception, hydraulic and mass loading rates and accumulation rates, the characteristics of the OM of Brazilian deposits were found to be quite similar to the French ones.

Keywords: Mature sludge; Mineralization; Raw sewage; Sludge deposit; Vertical flow constructed wetland.